Microsoft Commercial Marketplace

The Microsoft Commercial Marketplace is a repository of solutions that Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners offer. As part of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program, ISVs can create, publish, and manage their marketplace offerings within the Partner Center. Featuring your solutions through Microsoft ensures a connection with businesses, organizations, and government agencies on a global scale.
The commercial marketplace operates in over 100 countries and handles numerous tax payments. Partners who list with the commercial marketplace gain eligibility for a wide range of free technical, marketing, and sales benefits. These additional resources are designed to assist in expanding their business, improving visibility, and providing added support for a successful partnership.

The Microsoft commercial marketplace primarily consists of two primary online stores: Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace. Microsoft AppSource is a marketplace for business solutions, while Azure is for IT solutions. If your solution is built on or for Azure and caters to IT professionals and developers, Azure Marketplace is the place for you.

The Azure Marketplace offers solutions designed specifically for Azure, catering to IT professionals and developers. This platform features listings for both consulting and managed services. Azure Marketplace consulting services provide professional assistance to help customers initiate or accelerate their Azure utilization.

The catalog includes solutions for different industries and technical areas, free trials, and consulting services from Microsoft partners. The Marketplace is integrated with Microsoft services and offers thousands of products organized into a variety of use cases, including Internet of Things (IoT), security, and more.

Azure Marketplace and AppSource are two distinct storefronts provided by Microsoft that allow partners to list offers, enable trials, and transact directly with Microsoft’s customers. The main difference between the two is the type of solutions they offer. Azure Marketplace is focused on providing IT and developer solutions that are built on Azure or used within Azure subscriptions themselves.

On the other hand, AppSource offers a wider range of business and industry solutions, such as apps that integrate into Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform services. While offers can appear in both storefronts, they are split by offer types and audiences, and resellers can access your offer only if you’ve opted into the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program

Here are some reasons why businesses should consider selling on Azure Marketplace:

1. Reach a wider audience: Azure Marketplace is a powerful channel to market and sell cloud solutions certified to run on Azure.
2. Generate leads: By allowing customers to spin up live instances of applications running on Azure, businesses can generate leads and help customers understand how they will meet their needs.
3. Promote solutions to enterprise: Businesses can gain access to Microsoft enterprise sellers using Azure Marketplace as a selling tool. They can also participate in co-marketing opportunities to reach new customers and markets worldwide.
4. Increase deal velocity: Azure Marketplace can help businesses increase deal velocity via simplified contracting and budgeting
5. Preferred customer procurement platform: Azure Marketplace is preferred for many businesses, as it can increase deal velocity and simplify the procurement process.
6. Customer access: Microsoft encourages enterprise customers with Azure contracts to leverage Marketplace solutions. People with an Azure account can peruse the available offerings and download applications to run.
7. Rich commerce capabilities: Azure Marketplace offers rich commerce capabilities and insights into how businesses perform on the platform.
8. User-friendly platform: Azure Marketplace is a user-friendly platform that can help businesses accelerate sales and venture into new industries

Listing your app or service on the Azure Marketplace can expand your market presence and attract new customers. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Create or sign in to your Microsoft account: To begin, you’ll need a Microsoft account. If you don’t already have one, create one here.
2. Join the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN): You must provide basic information about your company and complete the enrollment process.
3. Enroll in the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace Program: This will give you access to the Partner Center and enable you to list your offerings on the Azure Marketplace.
4. Create a new offer: In the Partner Center, click on the “Commercial Marketplace” tab, then select “Overview” and click “New Offer”. Choose the type of offer you want to create (e.g., SaaS, virtual machine, container, or AI model).
5. Complete offer details: Provide the required information for your offer, such as a title, summary, description, categories, and keywords.
6. Provide technical details: Depending on the type of offer, you may need to provide additional technical information, such as deployment instructions, resource requirements, or integration steps.
7. Upload images and multimedia: Include a logo, screenshots, and other visual elements to showcase your offering and make your listing more attractive and engaging.
8. Set pricing and licensing details: Specify the pricing model for your offering (e.g., free, one-time purchase, or subscription-based) and provide any necessary licensing information.
9. Create a support plan: Detail a support plan for your customers, including contact information and response times for different support channels.
10. Review and submit your offer: Double-check your entered information for accuracy and completeness. Once ready, submit your offer for review.
11. Review and publication: Microsoft will review your offer to ensure it meets its quality and security standards. You’ll be notified in the Partner Center if any changes are required. After approval, your offer will be published on the Azure Marketplace. Remember that the specific steps and requirements may vary depending on the type of offer you’re creating.

To publish an offer in Azure Marketplace, you must have a commercial marketplace account in Partner Center and ensure your account is enrolled in the commercial marketplace program. The offer type will correspond to the kind of solution, app, or service offer you wish to publish and its alignment to Microsoft products and services.

Before creating your offer, you should review the online store, offer type eligibility, and technical publishing requirements. The following are some of the requirements and guidelines for listing new offers and services on Azure Marketplace:

• The title must only contain lowercase letters, alphanumeric characters, dashes, or underscores.
• The service type must match the title.
• The offer must have competency in at least one of the following: AI, analytics, application development, data management, DevOps, IoT, migration, networking, security, or storage.
• The products must be Azure products.
• The country/region must match the selected currency.
• The links at the bottom (under the description, not Azure Marketplace links on the left) lead to more information about the solution and are publicly available and displayed correctly.
• The publisher is responsible for supporting their software, and Microsoft is responsible for keeping the purchase, billing, payments, and subscription management experiences.
• Customers who purchase solutions from Azure Marketplace require an Azure Active Directory ID and an active Azure subscription.

Purchases are automatically added to your Azure bill and charged to the payment method associated with the account. You will get the bill a few days after the end of your billing period. The invoice, reservations, and spot VMs are generated around the ninth day of the month. You will then receive a single, consolidated monthly bill from Microsoft that includes your Azure Marketplace purchases and charges.

To view your invoices, sign in to the Azure portal and search for Cost Management + Billing, then select Invoices from the left menu. Azure Marketplace offers various pricing options and multiple deployment methods to give you the flexibility to meet your unique business needs

No, the Azure Marketplace does not require a partner to get listed. However, some specific requirements and guidelines must be met to list new offers, services, and other IT solutions on Azure Marketplace. However, having a partner can help you navigate the listing process and maximize opportunities for success.

Get an Azure partner for professional guidance, well-informed recommendations, and support in developing and executing solutions that drive your organization’s growth. Obtain supplementary resources and assistance from a reputable partner such as F33.

We can assist you in transitioning to, constructing, and operating within the cloud. This ensures enhanced agility, adaptability, and reliability while developing your solutions for the Azure Marketplace.